Souad Mekhennet and Maia de la Baume, The Sydney Morning Herald
RABAT, Morocco: A moderate Islamist party appears to have won parliamentary elections in Morocco, the second time in weeks that voters in the region have chosen Islamists in elections following the Arab Spring.
The Justice and Development Party won a plurality of the vote, the first under the country’s new constitution, according to partial election returns announced by the government on Saturday. If those results hold up, the king will be required to choose a prime minister from the party and the party will have the right to lead a coalition government.
The constitution, drafted by King Mohammed VI in response to pro-democracy protests last spring, still reserves important powers for the king, including over military and religious matters, and remains far from the constitutional monarchy demanded by the protesters.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/moderate-islamists-ahead-in-morocco-20111127-1o1kg.html#ixzz1evKuA7jq
General Secretary of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), Abdelilah Benkirane, raises his fist as he arrives at the party's headquarters in Rabat. Photo: AFP Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/moderate-islamists-ahead-in-morocco-20111127-1o1kg.html#ixzz1evL4oIBi
Note by the editor: Morocco has taken a step in the right direction. It seems they are ahead of Jordan for instance. Let’s see how long Jordan will take to ‘catch up’.
Hopefully moderate Muslim does not prove to be just a lebel. Better would be to wait how the party delivers in first six months.
We now have Tunesia and Morocco with moderate Islamic parties leading the Government. Let’s see what comes up in Egypt. Personally I would like to ‘give them a chance’ to prove themselves. The Islamic party in Turkey is not doing that badly.